loot

Meaning

Noun

1. (uncountable) Synonym of booty, goods seized from an enemy by violence, particularly (historical) during the sacking of a town in war or (video games) after successful combat.
2. (uncountable) Synonym of sack, the plundering of a city, particularly during war.
3. (US, colloquial, uncountable) Any valuable thing received for free, especially Christmas presents.
4. (slang, uncountable) Synonym of money.

Verb

1. (transitive) Synonym of plunder, to seize by violence particularly during the capture of a city during war or (video games) after successful combat.
2. (transitive) Synonym of rob, to steal something from someone by violence or threat of violence.

Synonyms

plunder

booty

pillage

rob

spoil

stolen goods

despoil

ransack

spoils

steal

dough

sack

lolly

swag

raid

reave

haul

burgle

dosh

robbing

thieve

ravage

dirty money

prize

scratch

bread

🍞

foray

boodle

strip

prey

robbery

simoleons

cabbage

clams

fleece

gelt

kale

kill

🔪🩸👤

lettuce

lucre

maraud

output

pelf

rifle

snatch

sugar

wampum

shekels

stolen property

moolah

Translations

butin

saccheggiare

plündern

piller

depredare

pillar

botín

saquear

bottino

plunderen

saccager

Beute

buit

pilhar

ravir

Pronounced as (IPA)

/luːt/

Etymology

Cognate with Dutch: loet

Cognate with Scots: lute

Cognate with Western Frisian: loete

Cognate with Middle Low German: lōte

Cognate with French: louche

In summary

Borrowed from Hindi लूट (lūṭ, “booty”), either from Sanskrit लोप्त्र (loptra, “booty, stolen property”) or लुण्ट् (luṇṭ, “to rob, plunder”). The figurative meaning developed in American English in the 1920s, resulting in a generalized meaning by the 1950s.